Equinix opens new Sydney data centre

Equinix has announced it will open a new International Business Exchange data centre in Sydney, adding to its seven existing facilities in the city.

The new IBX will be named SY5, and is projected to be Equinix’s largest in Australia with 9225 cabinets once completed. It will be located in the suburb of Alexandria, just under 4km from Sydney CBD, in a colocation space of some 25,000 square meters when completed.

The initial $160 million phase will offer 1825 cabinets and is set for a Q3 2019 opening. The total cost is estimated to reach $224 million upon completion.

"We're thrilled to continue an exciting period of growth for Equinix globally with the addition of SY5 IBX in Sydney,” Equinix Australia managing director Jeremy Deutsch said.

“Sitting on Platform Equinix, SY5 further enables us to offer scalable digital infrastructure and on-demand interconnection both in the local market and across the Asia-Pacific region via a single platform.”

Equinix said the density of carriers, cloud service providers and subsea cables in South Sydney made it an important location for a data centre.

SY5 will also be connected to the SY1, SY2, SY3 and SY4 data centres through a direct fibre cross-connect capability, as well as with SY6 through Equinix Metro Connect connectivity.

“We are thrilled to announce SY5 in Australia and further our reach across the country,” Equinix Asia-Pacific president Samuel Lee said.

“I look forward to seeing Equinix continue to expand in Australia and lead the push towards a digital economy."

When SY5 opens, Equinix will have a national footprint of 16 IBX data centres across Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane, with eight in Sydney.